Greetings!

Food Matters Manitoba is cultivating leaders on food security.

It's what we do. Here are some ways we are doing it.
New Video Resource by FMM Youth Event Participant
Journey to the North documents Food Matters Manitoba's 2019 Northern Youth Gathering through the video lens of Jacob Bird, one of the young Indigenous participants.
 
Through Jacob's reflections we learn about the land based activities the young people experienced. Among them are skinning a lynx, building a shelter, catching fish. We also get an understanding of the impact the program has on shaping a generation of leaders who will address food insecurity in their communities.
 
Colonial and racist policies and attitudes continue to negatively impact Indigenous communities. Recovering traditions and accessing culturally appropriate foods is a step toward redressing discrimination. 
 
Building knowledge, skill and pride in young people is another important aspect. Deepening cultural wisdom and practices related to food (harvesting, growing, preserving, sharing, appreciating) promotes community and individual healing and improves availability of adequate and nutritious food.
"Programs like this help me restore the link and reconcile with the lost traditions of my people. The more we as a people learn, the more that we show that we carry resiliency and can be empowered through our lifetimes ."  

-Jacob Bird, Film Maker
Vision for Food Secure City: Brandon Food Council
N early 50 community members attended the first of a planned series of community forums held by Brandon Food Council. Oriented around the theme of ‘building a food secure community’, the event generated significant enthusiasm and a range of innovative ideas for strengthening the local food system. The rich insights gathered will contribute to an integrated food strategy for the City that the Council is tasked with developing over the next several years.

" By providing gathering places for everyone who has a stake in the food system, from those who experience hunger to those who administer the system, we can listen and learn and the movement for change is strengthened." Kirsten Lowitt, Brandon Food Council Chair

The event clearly demonstrated that there are many opportunities for collaboration to make more effective use of the food programs, to remove policy and legislative barriers and to advocate for income boosting measures to reduce poverty and support ways of accessing food in a dignified way.

Over the coming months they will be forming sub-committees to take on priority projects and actions in collaboration with community partners. At the same time, the Council continues to work on long-term policy development.
New Edition of
Northern Sun
The bi-annual newsletter Northern Sun features articles highlighting activities in the North.

In this recent issue:
  • Insights on the place of the Spirit
  • Youth on the Trapline in Saskatchewan
  • Northern Youth Gathering Video
  • Skinning and butchering a caribou
  • Container Greenhouse in Norway House

Back issues are on our website
Reflections from Intern
Practicum student Ann Marie has taken the lead on developing print resources to accompany a series of videos on Food Security FMM will be launching soon. This is an excerpt from her recent blog:

Dear Reader, if there is one thing to take away it is this: take the time to learn about food insecurity in your local area. It is more common than you might think. What needs to change so everyone has equal access to food? Change can start with one person’s idea.Cliché as this statement may be, the world would be a better place if people didn’t have to go to bed hungry.

 
"I am proud to have worked with a group of people who aim to do just that." 

Recent Launches
The Winnipeg Food Atlas
Alternative Manitoba Budget
The Winnipeg Food Atlas is a community developed resource designed to help fix food systems issues in Winnipeg.

The online map and interactive data dashboards allow users to explore the Winnipeg foodscape at the neighbourhood, ward, or city level.

The map identifies food assets such as farmers markets, community gardens, food bank locations, and grocery stores. It also includes information on indicators of food insecurity, including the cost and prevalence of diabetes, a growing nutrition related health issue.

"It really helps to get people's imaginations going and start thinking about food as something that we plan for as a city. The Winnipeg Food Council will be using the data in our upcoming projects."
Jeanette Sivilay, Wpg Food Council and FMM staff, pictured above at the launch.

The map is found on the Food and Nutrition Knowledge page of the Manitoba Collaborative Data Portal.
The Alternative Provincial Budget, released March 3, has a chapter on Food Security prepared by FMM Executive Director, Rob Moquin and Program Coordinator Olivia Boyce.
FMM organized and led the development of backgrounders on subtopic areas (household food insecurity, regional inequity, and diet related disease) and conducted public consultations related to the chapter.

For those looking for positive action on income equality, reconciliation, climate change and growing food insecurity, this is a helpful tool.

"The APB was an important exercise in helping stakeholders understand how budgets are crafted and how we can better spend as a province. It gives voice to our constituents who share their hopes and priorities for food security in Manitoba."
Rob Moquin, FMM Executive Director


Celebrating our Funders
FMM is blessed by the generosity of people who share our concern about food insecurity and have confidence in the work we are doing to address it.

Recent donors/funders include: IQmetrix, Dillon Consulting, Healthy Horizons Foundation (North West Co.), Winnipeg Foundation and the Thomas Sill Foundation.
Join us in building a Manitoba where good food nourishes strong communities and healthy people by donating today!
Cultivating Leadership on Food Security
Working Together
Building Knowledge
Planning for Change